Aamir Khan on ‘Dhoom 3’

Abhishek Bachchan, left and Aamir Khan during an event in Mumbai, Dec. 10.

On “The Front Row” this week, film critic Anupama Chopra chats with Bollywood actors Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra ahead of the release of the third part of the “Dhoom” [“Blast”] action thriller series.

The film releases nationwide on Dec. 20.

The actors discuss their characters in the film, acrobatic training and portraying crime on screen.

Advertisement

Edited excerpts:

Anupama Chopra: Crime has been an integral part of the movies since Edwin Porter’s “The Great Train Robbery” in 1903. Why is it so sexy, especially on the big screen?

Aamir Khan: I guess because it’s dangerous. There’s a fear of getting caught. There’s excitement in it. You’re breaking the law. These are all emotions which all of us have, which most of the time we suppress. In all of us, there is a certain need to do what is not allowed. Playing with fire is an attractive zone for every human being.

Anupama: The villains of the “Dhoom” series are more about coolness and style than dastardly deeds. But your character seems more angst-ridden and complicated. Is he darker than the characters John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan played in the previous editions of “Dhoom”?

Mr. Khan: No, he is angst-ridden but I think in the entire “Dhoom” franchise, the negative guy is not meant to be really negative. He’s also meant to be a fun guy or in this case, he’s got emotional baggage that he’s carrying. The character I’m playing is not of someone that your emotions won’t be with. That’s the way the script is written.

Abhishek Bachchan: I think a good way to put it is that he’s not psychotic but he has an emotional reason for doing what he is doing. We have done the film twice already and we’ve maxed out the whole cool, swagger thing. I also feel the audience has become a lot more discerning in the last nine years since the first “Dhoom”. You have to give them something new.

Anupama: Uday, you’re a Los Angeles based producer now. What do you think is the one thing that we could learn from the West?

Uday: I think the greatest learning that I got from there is that their structure for financing is fantastic. So I could go out and actually make a $30 million movie on equity of 5 million which I can’t do over here. I can have that pre-sold, I can go and shoot in territories that give me rebates up to 40 percent of whatever I spend there. So those are things that you can really bank, and the bank will give at least 80 to 90 percent back. As an independent producer, because that’s what I am, I can’t do that here. Here even if I have to borrow money from a bank, it’s on collateral, it’s on what money you already have. There you can get money based on the lineup of movies, so they actually loan you money on that, which is great and that actually helps a lot.

Anupama: Aamir, this role was extremely physical. You re-sculpted your body and even trained as an acrobat. When a character is so much about the external, is there a danger of it becoming superficial? Does it become about looking a certain way rather than being a certain way?

Mr. Khan: For me, when I’m approaching any role, the physical aspect is a part of it. But it’s certainly not the most important part. I don’t think any part is less or more important. You are the person in every way physically. There are some roles in which there is no particular requirement for a physique but if you are playing a circus artist then you have to look like a circus artist. So I just did what I needed to do. But I am hoping that I haven’t only concentrated on that.

Anupama: Abhishek, you are in a way a “Dhoom” veteran. But over three films your roles seem to have been similar. So what makes this exercise interesting for you?

Mr. Bachchan: For me, being a part of this franchise is like coming home. It’s a film I have a huge emotional connect to. For me, it has to be about heart. When Adi [producer Aditya Chopra] told me the basic outline of the film, I said, ‘It’ll be great fun.’ You’re getting to work with Aamir [Khan], what more do you want? That might not be the way to choose films in today’s day and age, but that’s the way I am. I always believed the eventual outcome isn’t in our hands; we can just give it our best.

Watch “The Front Row with Anupama Chopra” Friday at 8:30 pm on Star World for the full conversation with Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra. For more details on the show log on to their website, follow them on Twitter @tfr2013 and on Facebook.

About India Real Time

India Real Time offers analysis and insights into the broad range of developments in business, markets, the economy, politics, culture, sports, and entertainment that take place every single day in the world’s largest democracy. Regular posts from Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires reporters around the country provide a unique take on the main stories in the news, shed light on what else mattered and why, and give global readers a snapshot of what Indians have been talking about all week. You can contact the editors at indiarealtime(at)wsj(dot)com.